Ok, this is something I've been kind of annoyed with for a while. I'm just going to cut to the chase, why do they keep hiring these young mid to late 20`s pretty boys to play superheroes? Such as Chris Hemsworth, Chris evans, and recently "DC" related Henry cavill, look, they give good performances (cavill) yet to be seen, but when I think of superheroes, I don't think of these pretty boys. I think of real Men! Like mid to late thirtys, men like john hamm ect. Men that look closet to the Jim lee, Alex ross interpretations.

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Originally Posted by Artistsean

It all started with the movies, needing younger to keep the franchise going or because they thought that the general audience would connect more with a younger hero. Then the comics, to help promote their films, altered their characters to fit the ages in the film. Now Batman and Superman are in their 20s instead of late 30s/early 40s.
They already had an older superhero film that succeeded, Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. He is 48 now. Back then in Iron Man 1 he was 43. Jon Favreau had to fight for that though, from what I hear. The studio wanted a teen Tony Stark, probably because the success of Spider-Man the studio was afraid to go with an older hero. Maybe thats why the cartoon show featured a teen Tony Stark.
High Jackman is 44. When if 1st played Wolverine he was 31. But he still looks like a young Wolverine, sort of. At least I wasn't aware of his age anyway. And he is still playing Wolverine, but that could be because he was grandfathered in.
But what was the response by the public and comic fans to a younger actor, Michael Fassbender, playing Magneto in 1st Class over the older actor, Sir Ian Murray McKellen, in X-Men?
I thought I remembered rumblings at the time that McKellen was too old for Magneto, and later thought I heard that finally we got a right aged actor for the part.
However, I do want to point out that in my opinion Chris Evans and Hemsworth are perfect choices for Captain America and Thor. Just like I thought Downey Jr. was the perfect Stark.

Studios have always seemed to promote the younger age though, I heard that one suggestion for the movie Hero Bear and the Kid (that hasn't been made yet) was to make the little boy a teenager, and to put Hillary Duff in the film. So its not just making the older characters younger, it can sometimes be making the younger kids teenagers.
But TV does this too, I remember watching Friends and thinking the stars were so much older than me, and now the stars of How I Met Your Mother are my age.
It could have a similar reason as to why DC introduced Robin in the Batman comics, because younger kids connected with Robin being young and it boosted sales. Maybe they see the younger crowd as being a more viable market than the older crowd and that is why they target them.
Similarly why cartoon shows like Spectacular Spider-Man, Young Justice, and Avengers gets canceled and replaced with Ultimate Spider-Man, Tinny Titans, and other shows that appeal to young and younger crowds rather than try to appeal to older or young and old at the same time.
My dad said that I outgrew their target market.

So, while I agree that the prospect of sequels and cameos and continuing to use that actor for things in the future must play a part, I also think it has to do with market research on the studios part. Them thinking that the more profitable way to do things is casting unknowns, or little well knowns like Evans, and younger actors who are around their mid 20s-early 30s.

Someone should make a, maybe generic, superhero movie with an all old cast. Casting actors and actresses who people would have loved to see in superhero films but now they are too old. Not like Red, I mean like a superhero movie where the actors play superheroes like Spider-Man or Superman types but are "too old" by studio standards. Like in their 40s and 50s and even 60s and 70s.
I heard that Denzel Washington wanted to, would LOVE to, play a superhero but no one asked him.

It's not only that, you have too look at the demographics of the audiences that are going to see these types of films. The age range is more like 12-24 and they can relate with actors that are young like them. Now, that being said, there are certain actors that have established themselves as A-listers whom can draw a crowd to what ever film they star in. Because of this star power, their age is somewhat less relevant. Another factor is the description of the character they are playing. I don't ever think you will see a older actor playing Spider-Man since the character is always known to be a person of high school or college age. The same thing goes for Superman (a man aged 25 to 35) and Wonder Woman (although upwards of 3000 years old, always looks in her early 20's). It is not only the case with CBM's. You see that in other genre's as well (Twilight, Transformers, et. al).

But casting big names for villains doesn't affect the budget or the final product, right?

It depends. In a lot of films, the villain is a lesser role, in terms of screen time and dramatic importance, so it does indeed pay less. In other cases, it is a coequal spot to the hero. . . but unless you plan on only having a name for one role, you'd still be notably upping the budget if you cast a name actor for *both* the hero and the villain.

Spider-Man was first bitten when he was in high school, arguably the actor should be younger.

Didn't Batman and Superman have their origins when they were in their 20s?

I'd imagine Captain America was in his 20s as well because I always saw him as a young man enlisting, not as a middle aged man enlisting in the army.

I'm pretty sure Chris Hemsworth is in his early 30s, so was Thor which makes sense.

Tony Stark is in his forties and so was/is Robert Downey Jr.

I don't see the whole issue, it seems very comic book relevant to where their arc is to me.

If it was Superman years into his career as Superman and they cast someone in their 20s that would be one thing. But, these are origin movies and to my knowledge all of their origins have been when they are young men.

In other words, I think your question is "why do they always tell origin stories." Well, while the comic book audience is familiar with these characters. The mass audiences aren't, and going from an ordinary world into an extraordinary world is the easiest introduction to take them through.

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It's easy, the prime demographic audience wants to see young men. So they cast young men. Think about it, to be successful they need to get more than just the hard-core nerds in, and teenage and early 20s women are huge. So you get mid-20s hunks to star in superhero movies, you get the women in, and you don't lose the nerd-core.

Yes... All of these young men. That must be why Avengers was so popular, with RDJ (current age 48), Mark Ruffalo (45), Jeremy Renner (42) and Samuel L. Jackson (64). If anything, Marvel may have gone too OLD. I don't actually think that. I actually believe the casting for the Marvel characters has been brilliant.

Look at some of the other characters-
Chris Evans (31)- Like people have said, it made sense for him to be very young when he got rejected from the Army. Most people going off to war were practically kids.
Chris Hemsworth (29)- He's an immortal Norse god, so he doesn't really age and SHOULD look like he is at the peak of physical perfection. Job well done.
Scarlett Johansson (28)- They might have gone a little bit young here, but she is supposed to be sexy and physical, so young works.
Don Cheadle (48)- Same age as RDJ. Makes perfect sense.
Anthony Mackie (33)- He's a soldier/field agent. Being young and badass makes sense.
Sebastian Stan (30)- See Chris Evans.

Marvel has done a fantastic job with casting. I feel like DC has, as well, especially with pretty much everyone in the Nolan Batman series. Man of Steel looks to be on point. I could pretty much go on and on about this. As far as ages go, I will say I was actually pissed off when Andrew Garfield was cast. I didn't get the logic behind it. "Hey, let's make a new, high school aged Spider-Man... But let's cast a guy who's damn near 30, completely negating making Spider-Man young again."

The three characters mentioned in the OP specifically look the way they should. Cap is a young man given the serum that takes him past normal humans, it makes sense that he would look like a man in his late 20s, which he does. He doesn't look girly or anything at all. Thor is a Godlike being so he should look powerful and youthful, and in the film looks youthful whilst also being clearly masculine and strong. He's not too young at all. Superman should ALWAYS look young under a yellow sun, surely. In fact, the only real question there is how can he grow big muscles at all?

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There should be some kind of Superhero and Supervillain helmet rating system.

It doesn't matter how old they are, guys like Hemsworth and Cavill look like grown men. Like they've already seen adventure and triumph and loss. Someone like Armie Hammer who still looks like a teenager, I wouldn't want as a superhero.

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How old was Captain America during his origins? 25? 30? Thor is, for all intents and purposes immortal, and will look young and handsome for thousands of years. Similar story for Supes, to a lesser degree. But he was young at some point right? What we have to hope is that these young guys decide to continue playing these characters well into their 30s and 40s so that we see them age with the character. at least, that's what I want to see.

It doesn't matter how old they are, guys like Hemsworth and Cavill look like grown men. Like they've already seen adventure and triumph and loss. Someone like Armie Hammer who still looks like a teenager, I wouldn't want as a superhero.

how does hammer look like a teenager
honestly what school did you go to that this look like a teenager

It was hyperbole, he definitely looks like a college student. What he doesn't look like is a guy whose seen adventure and fought countless battles.

Garfield doesn't bother me, since Peter Parker is meant to be young looking.

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Do the trick, did it?
Hand up the skirt ?
Loverboy!
Get it out?
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David Copperfield?
Do you like that?
You make me sick!
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Go on, what's your secret? ... Old Spice?
Splash it all over!
Now you're talkin'! L'il bit kinky?
Ha, ha, golden shower!
The erotic world of Jacques Cousteau.
Bum 'er didya?
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Choosing young actors is important if we want to make sequels. Look at R. Downey Junior, ok there will be Iron Man 3, Avengers 2 in theaters but the years pass.
For me it's easier to identify with a character or hero when it's an unknown actor rather than an celeb actor. With him, I'll only see how the actor plays and not the character.

For me it's easier to identify with a character or hero when it's an unknown actor rather than an celeb actor. With him, I'll only see how the actor plays and not the character.

Doesn't that go for every character in every genre? With your reasoning, George Clooney doesn't work in a political thriller, and dito with Tom Cruise in a drama. Leonardo DiCaprio should just stop making films altogether.
The Captain America sequel will be destroyed by having Robert Redford.
How can veteran actors (Eastwood, de Niro, Nicholson etc) have all the good films in their careers if we only see them and not the characters?

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Answer

Christian Bale wasn't really unknown though..

Neither was Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones or Elijah Wood before Frodo (even if some Swedes claim the latter).
And Tobey Maguire was recognized from films by Lasse Hallström and Ang Lee.